Apparatus for filling and emptying containers



Jan. 13, 1953 SIEGAL 2,625,311

APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND EMPTYING CONTAINERS Filed Nov. 17, 1950 5Sheets-Sheet l hula-Q's. J0.

IN VEN TOR.

jib/ 17701? a SZG/QCI/ Jan. 13, 1953 N. A. SIEGAL 2,625,311

APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND EMPTYING CONTAINERS Filed Nov. 17, 1950 3Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEA' TOR. A/O/flfdf? d Szgga Patented Jan. 13, 1953UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

APPARATUS FOR .FILLING' AND EMPTYIN G CONTAINERS Norman A. Siegal,Chicago, 111., assignor to Irvin Swartzherg, Chicago; Ill.

Application November 17, 1950, Serial No; 196,245

6. Claims. 1;

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for washingwandcleaning contents such as" preserves, pickles, etc. packaged in glassjars or other containers, and more particularly to apparatus adapted towash foodstufis which are packed within containers preparatory tofilling said'containers =with packing liquidssucli as for example brine,vinegar; etc.

A principal object ofmy inventionis to provide apparatus of the typedescribed whichopcrates on acontinuous flow basis at high capacity:

Another object of my invention is the provision of filling and emptyingapparatus which is easily adjustable to handle containers ofdifferent'sizes.

Yet another object of my-invention is the provision of apparatus ofthetype described which canbe constructed to wash the contents of eachcontainer a plurality of times, the entire oper-f ation being ona-continuous flow basis.

A further object is the provision of apparatus which occupies but littlefloor space, and is economical to build and operate.

These and other objects are fully realized by my" invention, which inbroad outline comprises a frame and a wheel rotatably mounted-thereon,an endless belt looped over the wheeLsupport means for the: endless:belt which with" the'xwheel providestwo' successive" runs, means formoving containers along with the. belt as the latter moves successivelythrough the said two runs, container liquid. filling means positionedover the first run whereby containers which are moving right side upalong said first run may be filled with wash liquid, and a. drain membersupporting said containersbeneath the secondrun, whereby the solidcontentsof the containers. are prevented from escaping with thedischarged rinse liquid as the containers are moved upside downialongsaid second run. Inpreferred embodiments .of my invention, additionalbelt support means are provided so that each container is. filled withrinse liquid and emptied at least.

twice. In addition, I prefer that the apparatus be; provided withstructureior supporting the weight of the containers both in. the rightside up position and the upside down position, and means for adjustingthe supporting structure to handle containers of different sizes.

Inorder that my invention may be more fully disclosed, reference is hadto. the. accompanying drawings which illustrate one. form of containerfilling, and emptying. apparatusv embodying, the. foregoing and suchother principles, advantages 2 or capabilities as may be-pointedoutrasrthis description proceeds. or as are inherent;;in;-..the@ presentinvention. For purposes of '1 clarity inexposition, the followingd-escriptionyis' explicit;

and the accompanying drawings aredetailed but it is distinctly tobeunderstooid thatsaidiexposb tion is illustrative only, and that.myrinvention. is

not restricted to the particular-detailszrecited'inthe specificationOPShOWIITiD. the drawings:

In the drawings:

Figures 1 and 2 takentogether: constitutelia side elevaticnal view oftheentireapparatus; the

broken line at the right side of Figure. 1a andith'e. broken line at theleft side .of Figure Zin'dicating the places where the several partsshown would be joined if the two figures: were consolidated" Likereference characters 1 designate-dike: parts. in the drawings and in thedescriptiontofthe.

embodiment shown therein which follows.

Referring now to the drawings, my'inventionv is shown as including apair ofiuprightsal'll', [0. which are supported by theendfootmembersrl'l; H and the intermediate foot' members: 12, I2.-Container handling apparatuses; which are mire ror images of each otheran'd whichfunctioniirr.

an identical fashion can be andspreferablyare mounted on the'uprightsI0, |B;.:accordingly.in" the drawings and particularlyFigureziithereofg; parts on the upright I0 corresponding,tcnthe. same.par-ts on the upright l0- aresodesignated' by a prime sign.

Referring now more particularly to Fig-Meal and 2, a sump or basin I3having a" .drainageoutlet I l therein is positioned beneath.the.uprights. Hi and I0. Immediately above th sump .131 on the upright[0 are av plurality of sprocket'wheel's IS with teeth which mesh anvendless linkbeltlfi.

The belt I6 extends from the right hand sprocket. wheel [5 (Figure 2)upwardly andaroundthe sprocket wheel I? to the sprocket wheel I8. The

endless link or chain belt 16 continues beneathv the idler sprocketwheel l9 and. is thereafter looped successively around" the mainsprocket wheels 20, 2|, 22 and 23, to form a plurality of flights orruns indicated generally by the numerals 24, 25, 2-6 and 21. Aftermoving over the upper main sprocket wheel 23, the link belt 16 runs overthe idler wheel 28 and then extends downwardly at a sharp angle to moveunder the idler wheel 29, and thence over to and around the drivesprocket wheel 30. The drive sprocket wheel an is mounted on the shaft3! extending from the gear reduction unit 32 (Figure l.) which is inturn driven by the electric motor 33 through the pulleys 34 and 35 andthe interconnecting pulley belts 36, 36.

A railing 31 extends from the sprocket wheel (1 and follows alongparalleling the link belt It to the drive sprocket wheel 38. The railing31 is spaced uniformly from the link belt I5, and is supported by theuprights ill in the manner best shown in Figures 5 and 6. Moreparticularly, a plurality of brackets 38 extend from the upright l andeach is adapted to receive one of a plurality of threaded studs 39 whichextend from the railing 31. Two lock nuts 48 and 4| are placed each on adifierent side of each of the brackets 38, and provide means foradjusting the railing 31 toward or away from the upright it.

As further shown in Figures and 6, a holder 43 grips each container,which containers are shown in, the drawings as being in the form of widemouthed bottles 42. A plurality of the holders 43 are secured at spacedintervals along the endless link belt I6, and each is formed from alength of spring steel or similar material to include two bottleengaging segments 4%, as. The segments 44, 44 converge toward each otherin the direction of the link belt it, and the two odset end portions 45,45 are connected together by a helical spring 45. The action of thespring 46 is to place the segments e4, 44 under tension both to grip abottle 42 and to cam said bottle 42 toward and into engagement with therailing 31. As best shown in Figure 6, the holder 43 is slotted as at41, to provide clearance for the railing 3?.

The bottles 42 the solid contents of which are to be washed, areintroduced into the apparatus at the input conveyor table 48 (Figure 2).A fixed bottom rail 49 is spaced below the lower run 24 of the link beltI5, and is held in place on the brackets 38 extending from the uprightIt. A perforated supply conduit 50 is positioned above the lower run 24,to fill the bottles 42 with water or other wash liquid as they are movedalong the conveyor 49 by the holders 53. The wash liquid which falls toenter the bottles 42 is collected by the sump l3, which drains throughthe outlet M. A canopy 51 is mounted over the line 55 for a purpose tobe described presently.

. As the bottles 42 move toward the sprocket wheel 20 (Figure 1) each ispositioned between the arcuate shoe 52 on the one hand and the arcuateguide plate 53 on the other hand. Upon moving approximately 180 degreesaround the arcuate shoe 52, the bottles 42 are turned upside down withthe open mouth thereof resting against the perforated support rail 54,which is adjustably mounted in place on the brackets 55. Accordingly, asbottles 42 move from the sprocket wheel 20 toward the sprocket wheel 2I, the wash liquid in each bottle 42 empties therefrom, carrying alongwith it a substantial portion of the bay leaves, dill twigs or othersmall solids which are preferably removed from the contents of thebottles 42. As the wash liquid drains from the bottles 42, it isdeflected away from the bottles 42 on the lower run 24 by the canopy 5|,and drains into the sump I3.

As the bottles 42 move along the run 25 toward the sprocket wheel 2|,they are positioned between the arcuate shoe 56 concentric therewith,and the arcuate guide plate 51. The shoe 56 and guide plate 51 act toright the bottles 42, so that they are again right side up as they movealong the conveyor 66 of the run 26. A second liquid supply conduit 58is positioned over the run 26 to fill bottles 42 thereon with washliquid, and it in turn is covered by another canopy 59. The sprocketwheel 22 has concentric therewith an arcuate shoe 60 and an arcuateguide plate 6| which correspond to the shoe 52 and plate 53 at thesprocket wheel 20, and which serve a similar purpose; that is thebottles 42 are turned upside down so that during the succeeding flightthe liquid therein is drained out. A perforated support rail 62adiustably secured to the upright [0 by the bracket 62, prevents thesolid contents of the bottles 42 which is larger than the railperforations from escaping with the wash liquid. Upon moving around thesprocket wheel 23 and on to the conveyor 61, being guided in the processby the arcuate shoe 64 and the arcuate guide plate 65 corresponding tothe shoe 56 and plate 5'], the bottles 42 are once again right'side up,

with the contents thereof washed and ready for further processing.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the bottles 42 are conveyeddownwardly along the inclined rail 68 and move along the output conveyor89 beneath a perforated supply pipe 10,

r from which a liquid such as brine is directed into the bottles 42. Acatch basin H having a drain outlet 72 therein receives the overflowfrom the bottles 42 and any other liquid which emanates from the line 10but fails to enter said bottles 42. The end of the output conveyor 59may in turn be connected to bottle capping apparatus or other containerhandling or processing devices. After the bottles 42 are removed fromthe conveyor 69, the empty holders 43 move along with the link belt i5over the sprocket wheel I5 and back to the input conveyor table 48 whereother bottles 42 are inserted for processing through my apparatus.

Advantageously, my apparatus provides means for quickly and easilyadjusting the apparatus to handle bottles or other containers ofdifferent sizes. Thus, as in Figure 3 where a bottle 42a of size smallerthan the bottles 42 of the other figures of the drawings is to behandled, the shoe Gil (Figure 2) is removed and an arcuate shoe 60a ofgreater radius is substituted in its place. Next an arcuate guide plate65a also having a curvature which accommodates the smaller bottle 42a.is substituted for the arcuate plate 65. The upright I0 is provided witha plurality of sets of radially disposed threaded openings 13 at thesprocket wheel 23, and similar sets of radially disposed openings '54 atthe sprocket wheel 2!. In this way arcuate guide plates 6'5 and 57 ofdiiierent sizes may be quickly installed. When different arcuate shoes60a and guide plates 6511 (Figure 3) are installed, the perforatedconveyor 62 is adjusted up or down correspondingly, by means of theadjustable brackets 63. Similar adjustments would of course be made atthe sprocket wheels 20 and 21 to accommodate the different sizedbottles. Moreover, the holders 43 will grip bottles of different sizesby virtue of the flexible mounting of the bottle engaging segments 44,44. By adjusting the lock nuts 40 and 4| relative to the threaded studs39, the railing 31 may be moved toward or away from the holders 43, tocompensate for the different sized bottles which are being handled.

While in the embodiment shown in the drawings, the contents of eachbottle 42 are washed two times and drained after each washing, obviouslythe apparatus can be erected so as to provide only a single washing, orif desired more than two washings.

Having thus fully disclosed my novel container filling and emptyingapparatus, and demonstrated its utility by reference to a specificembodiment thereof, I claim as my invention:

1. In a container handling apparatus, a chain belt comprised ofsuccessive links, brackets secured to intervallic links of said belt,sprocket wheels establishing a course of travel for said belt, acontainer gripping means mounted on each of said brackets comprising aspringable sheet metal channel, inwardly converging extremities of saidchannel forming a camming action V-portion, a coil spring connecting theends of said extremities, and a side rail paralleling the course of saidchain belt and disposed to engage and confine containers held betweensaid converging extremities in opposition to said camming actionV-portions and thereby to grip said containers between them yieldably.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which said springable sheetmetal channel is divided by an intermediate slot into two collateralsections and in which said side rail is adapted to align with and extendpartially into said slot spacing.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which said side rail carriesa plurality of horizontally extended threaded mounting studs, andsupports carried by said apparatus having apertured upstanding portionsfor receiving said studs in combination in check nut means foradjustably varying the lateral disposition of said side rails thereby.

4. A conveyor apparatus for handling widemouth jars and similarcontainers comprising, a perpendicularly extending upright framework, aplurality of journal studs extending horizontally from said framework,variously spaced conveyor chain sprockets journaled on said studs, aconveyor belt chain meshing with the teeth of said sprockets to providea multiplicity of zig-zag flights thereby, mount brackets secured tointervallic links of said belt chain, container gripping means mountedon each of said brackets comprising a, channel shaped member formed ofspringable sheet metal and having inwardly bent converging extremities,a coil spring affording supplementary spring tension to said means byjoining said converging extremities, and a rail member paralleling thecourse of said belt chain and disposed to align with said containergripping means for the purpose of confining them thereby between thespringable eifects of said converging extremities and said rail foralternately disposing said containers in erect and inverted positions asthe course of said zig-zag flights causing said gripping means to becorrespondingly reversed in their relative position.

5. The combination set forth in claim 4, including a perforatedsupporting rail paralleling a, portion of said belt chain course inwhich said containers are held in inverted position for permitting thedraining of liquid content from said containers whilst retaining thesolids content thereof.

6. In a container handling apparatus, a chain belt and sprocketsdescribing a zig-zag course, brackets secured to intervallic links ofsaid belt, a container gripping means mounted on each of said bracketscomprising a springable channel member having inwardly convergingextremities which form a camming action V clamp, and a side railparalleling the course of said chain belt and disposed to engage andconfine containers between said V-portions by following the pathdescribed by said clamps as said chain belt pursues its zig-zag course.

NORMAN A. SIEGAL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 807,687 Schirmer Dec. 19, 1905813,012 Loew Feb. 20, 1906 1,652,277 Herold Dec. 13, 1927 1,761,450McKechnie June 3, 1930 1,775,003 Soelch Sept. 2, 1930 2,404,460 RolkerJuly 23, 1946

